Levelock
Levelock is located on the west bank of
the Kvichak River, 10 miles inland from Kvichak Bay. It lies 56 miles
east of Dillingham and 278 air miles southwest of Anchorage. It lies at
approximately 59° 07' N Latitude, 156° 51' W Longitude (Sec. 28, T012S,
R045W, Seward Meridian). The community is located in the Kvichak
Recording District. The area encompasses 28 sq. miles of land and 5 sq.
miles of water.
Early
Russian explorers reported the presence of Levelock, which they called "Kvichak."
The smallpox epidemic of 1837 killed more than half of the residents of
the Bristol Bay region, and left entire villages abandoned. A measles
epidemic hit the region in 1900. A 1908 survey of Russian missions
identified "Lovelock's Mission" at this site. The worldwide influenza
epidemic in 1918-19 again devastated area villages. Koggiung Packers
operated a cannery at Levelock in 1925-26. A large fire, attributed to a
cannery worker's careless cigarette, threatened the entire village in
1926, but residents dug fire lines which saved their homes. The fire
depleted the scarce wood resources used to heat homes. A second cannery
operated from 1928-29. In 1930 the first school was built, and a post
office was established in 1939. By this time, families had converted
their homes to oil heat. Moose first appeared in the area in the 1930s.
During the early 1950s, another cannery was in operation.
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